About
Your health data should work for you.
Health Data Safe is an independent Swiss foundation. Our mission: give people real control over their health data, while making it genuinely useful for medicine and research.
Our origin
Born from a simple question
In conversation after conversation — with women going through fertility treatment, patients with long COVID who couldn't access their own results, families managing chronic illness — the same frustration surfaced:
"I don't know where my data is."
"I don't know who can access it."
"I don't feel in control."
This wasn't just a technical failure. It was a trust problem, with real democratic stakes. When people can't access their own health records, they lose more than privacy, they lose the ability to make informed decisions about their own bodies, their treatment, and their future.
So we asked: what if we built a system where patients — not platforms or institutions — were the ones in charge?
We set up the Health Data Safe Foundation in Switzerland, under Swiss law, for exactly that: a secure, patient-centred infrastructure for health data governance. Independent from commercial interests. Accountable to civil society.
The key stays with you
You decide who accesses your data, when, and for what purpose. Every access requires your explicit consent. You can revoke it at any time.
Swiss law, not policies
HDS is a federally supervised foundation. Our statutes prohibit any sale of patient data, by HDS or by patients themselves. These are legal provisions, not internal rules we could change.
Science, not profit
We generate no revenue from data. We have no shareholders. Our only obligation is to patients and civil society.
Team
Executive Team
The executive team manages Health Data Safe's day-to-day operations and drives our mission forward.
Dr. Loïc Rigal
Governance
Foundation Council
The Foundation Council provides independent governance of the Foundation, in accordance with Swiss law.
Charlène Maret
Charlène Maret
A sympto-thermal method instructor and a member of AVIFA, where she leads its 'Couple and Fertility' area. A proud resident of Valais.
Oversight
Scientific and ethical oversight
Medical and scientific advisory board
We are assembling a board of clinicians and researchers to guide our priorities, starting with women's health. Members will be announced as they are confirmed.
Ethical review of research
Every research project that requests access to data is reviewed by an ethics committee convened specifically for that project, against the foundation's statutes. No research is active to date: data is opened to a study only after this review and the explicit consent of the people concerned.
Recognitions
Built on recognised open infrastructure
Our platform is built on Open-Pryv, an internationally recognised system for privacy and health data sovereignty.
Powered by Open-Pryv
Open-Pryv handles consent, auditability, fine-grained permissions, and data lifecycle rules (including deletion). It was designed specifically for personal health data in privacy-sensitive contexts, and created by Pierre-Mikaël Legris, our CTO and the founder of Pryv.
pryv.com →
Digital Public Good — UN Endorsed
The UN-endorsed Digital Public Goods Alliance has recognised Open-Pryv as a Digital Public Good, certifying its openness, compliance with international standards, and positive impact for the common good.
digitalpublicgoods.net →FAQ
Your questions, answered
What is Health Data Safe?
Health Data Safe is a Swiss non-profit foundation that gives individuals secure control over their personal health data. You can store your health data, use it for your own care, and — only with your explicit consent — share it with healthcare providers or contribute it to ethically approved medical research. The encryption key stays with you, not with the platform.
What is the mission of Health Data Safe?
Health Data Safe has three goals: protect your privacy and give you full control of your information; store your health data securely so it benefits your own health; and, with your clear consent, make data available for ethically approved medical research to help close health gaps, starting with women's health.
Is Health Data Safe independent and neutral?
Yes. Health Data Safe is an independent, non-profit, patient-centred Swiss foundation. It is not owned or controlled by any commercial or external interest, and it earns trust through that independence. Its only commitment is the privacy and security of your data.
Who owns and controls my health data?
You do. With Health Data Safe, your health data is owned and controlled by you by design. You decide who can access it and for what purpose, and you can change or revoke that access at any time.
Can Health Data Safe read my data? What does "you hold the key" mean?
No. Your data is encrypted and the key stays with you: Health Data Safe operates the platform but cannot read your health data. "You hold the key" means your data is only ever accessible when you grant access.
Will my health data ever be sold?
Never. Health Data Safe will never sell your health data, and neither can you from our platform. Data is treated as a common good and may only be used for your personal health or for ethically approved research, after your explicit opt-in.
Who is not allowed to access my data?
Any party whose use of data would not serve the interest of patients is refused access, for example, classic insurance companies. Access is only ever granted for your personal health benefit or for ethically approved research you have consented to.
What happens to my data if Health Data Safe shuts down?
Your data remains yours. Health Data Safe never owns your health data: should the foundation ever cease to exist, your data could never be transferred or sold, and we would put in place the tools you need to export all of it to your own computer or to another platform of your choice.
Can I withdraw consent or stop sharing at any time?
Yes, at any time. Consent in Health Data Safe is informed and fully revocable: you can stop sharing, change who has access, or withdraw your data from a research project whenever you choose.
Is my data protected under GDPR and Swiss law?
Yes. Health Data Safe is built to comply with the EU GDPR and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP/nLPD), which the EU recognises as equivalent. Lawful, consent-based processing is a founding principle.
What kinds of health data can I store?
Over time, any health-relevant data. Today this includes data from medical consultations and questionnaires, public health APIs such as Apple Health and Google Fit, cycle-charting apps, connected devices, and lab results. The initial focus is data on the feminine cycle.
Does Health Data Safe work with the apps and devices I already use?
Yes. Health Data Safe is designed to be interoperable — to read from and write to many health apps and devices — so you and your clinicians can reach your data from the tools you already use. Partner apps undergo a security review.
How is my data used for medical research?
Your data is only used for research that is ethically approved and that you have explicitly opted into. Research access is reviewed against the foundation's ethical standards, the data is handled to protect your identity, and you can withdraw at any time.
How do I delete my data?
You can delete your data at any time. See our data-deletion page for the steps.
Data deletion →Does Health Data Safe take sides in debated medical questions?
No. Health Data Safe does not take sides in debated medical questions: those are the responsibility of each person's healthcare provider. The foundation's sole commitment is the privacy and security of your data.
Why start with women's health?
Women's health — and the feminine cycle in particular — has long suffered from incomplete data, holding back research and care. Health Data Safe starts here to help build high-quality, ethically sourced data that can close these gaps, then expands to other areas.
Support our mission
Health data is a common good.
We don't sell data. We have no investors. We rely on people and organisations who share this belief.